"Those dogs live for the lake." A woman whose flaming red hair did not match the wrinkles around her eyes was standing on the front porch, wiping her hands on her shorts. She was wearing hot pink spandex shorts with peace signs, a fitted top with "Badass Woman" across the chest, and a pair of turquoise running shoes.
"Hey, Mom." Paige eyed her mom's outfit. "On your way to the gym? I thought we had girls' night planned."
Louise Turner rolled her eyes. "In this town, every night is girls' night for you, Paige. You've become extremely dependent on me and those dogs. You need to get a man that doesn't have four legs and a tail."
Paige bounded up the stairs and gave her mom a quick hug. "Is that a yes or no?"
"Of course I'll eat with you, my dear. I just got back from the gym. Check out these biceps." The older woman flexed for Paige, showing off impressive curves.
"Damn, Mom." Paige squeezed the arm. "It's like a rock. I think it's bigger than it was last week."
"Do you think? I was wondering that too..." She flexed her arm the other direction. "How about the triceps? Tony changed my arm workout last week, and I think it's paying off."
"Mom, you have more muscle than most professional athletes in their twenties." Paige decided not to engage her mom in a "battle of the biceps" because she knew who was going to win that one, and it wasn't her.
Louise shook her head. "If only I'd discovered gyms ten years ago. I could have had any man I wanted, or even chosen to be single, instead of thinking I had no other choice than to accept the life I had with Dad. Muscles make a woman stronger, not just in her body, you know." She smacked Paige's butt. "Get thine self to the gym, my dear. It'll pick your life right back up."
"Every time I try to go to the gym, I get lost. It's a hopeless cause." Paige pulled open the screen door, rolling her eyes. "And you would never have had an affair, even if he deserved it." She paused. "Would you?"
Louise patted her daughter's cheek as she went inside. "Of course not, sweetie. But I would have divorced his cheating, workaholic ass a long time ago. That's for sure." She grinned. "For so long, I thought I was dead inside. I can't even tell you how good it feels to spread my wings now."
Paige watched her mom lead the way into the kitchen. There was no cellulite on those thighs, and her calf muscles were seriously cut. Her mom was truly the badass that her shirt claimed she was. Divorce had been good for her. Being married to a domineering, autocratic workaholic had not. "Any hot dates this week?"
Louise grabbed some lemonade from the fridge and poured two glasses. "I think Walter's showing a little interest."
"Walter? President of the Conservation Society? He went to Harvard, didn't he?"
"About forty years ago, but yes." Louise tapped Paige's chest. "You need to hook up with these retired folks. The people who had their lucrative careers in New York and Boston, and now are living out their golden years up here. So, they're smart, well-off financially, interesting, but they've realized what's important in life. It's a great combo."
Paige involuntarily thought of another relocated Boston male who fit most of her mom's descriptions, plus had the added bonus of being deliciously sexy and irritatingly appealing. "Mom, in case you haven't noticed, by definition, the retirees are all your age, not mine. I'm not so desperate that I’m going to date a man twenty years older than me." She pulled open the sliding door and stepped out onto the back deck. The setting sun was casting a gorgeous array of pinks and oranges across the lake. The still water barely broke the reflection. "God, it's beautiful." Sunset on the lake never failed to take her breath away.
"I was thinking of their kids," Louise clarified. "Walter has a nice son who's coming up to visit this weekend. We thought the four of us might go to dinner. You know, so you two could meet."
Dating? She shuddered at the idea. "Give it up, Mom. You want to go to dinner so you can hang with Walter. You don't really want to set me up." She was all for her mom dating, but it was fun to tease her.
"Well, wouldn't it be convenient if we dated a father and son? Very handy." Louise set her drink on the railing and began stretching her right calf.
"No thanks." The last thing she wanted in a man was someone with a Harvard heritage who was a workaholic from Boston. Hadn't she already been through this with Luke? Oh, and her fiancé, Howard, had been such a treat, too. She didn't want another man like her dad.
"What other options do you have? Maybe Walter's son is a hottie." Louise switched calves. "Don't just stand there. Stretch or something. No need to waste time just standing around. Pull your foot up to your butt and stretch that quad."
"That gym has turned you into a maniac," Paige said wryly, but she set her drink on the railing and pulled her sneaker up to her rear end. It did feel good.
"So, is that a yes to dinner?" Louise stepped back and lifted her foot onto the railing, straightening her leg. She leaned forward, bending forward until her face was almost to her knee.
"Jeez, Mom. When did you become that flexible? It hurts watching you." Paige pulled her other foot up to her butt.
"Obviously, you forget that I did ballet as a kid. There's been a flexible body hidden beneath my couch-potato body for years. It just took a little determination and sweat to bring it out." Louise bent her face even closer to her knee. "What night is good for you for the double date? Saturday?"
Paige copied her mom and lifted her foot onto the railing, nearly pulling her hip out of the socket in the process. She quickly nixed that idea and settled for a gentle calf stretch. "I don't think I'm up for it, Mom."
"Why not? I'm sure he's a better conversationalist than Bandit is."
An image of Luke in his pristine suit, lunging after his dog, broke into Paige's mind. She chuckled, recalling his frustration.
"What's that giggle for? That sounded like a girlie giggle." Louise switched legs, flipping her foot on the railing with ease.
Paige switched calves and refused to look at her mom. "I didn't giggle."
Louise dropped her foot and faced Paige. "I've been your mom for your whole life and I know that giggle. Even if I haven't heard it since before law school, I still know it. Who's making you giggle like that?"
Paige stalled, enjoying torturing her mom. She put her foot on a stepstool, which was a much better height for her than the high railing, given that she had the flexibility of a tree trunk, compared to her mom. She leaned forward, feeling the stretch in her hamstring. "How are your dogs doing?"
"Don't be thinking you can avoid my question. Who's the man?"
"No one. Just a potential client." Who she hoped wasn't coming back. Really, she hoped he wasn't.
"Is he good looking?" Louise popped her foot back on the railing, apparently satisfied that she had Paige talking.
"Delicious." Paige immediately flushed and buried her face in her knee, or as close to her knee as she could get. That adjective had slipped out quite involuntarily.
Louise lifted an eyebrow. "Delicious, huh? Do tell."
Paige gave up trying to keep Luke a secret. She described the encounter, emphasizing his arrogant lawyer side and his lack of love for his dog.
"But he took the dog for his sister, huh? And kept the name Muffin?"
"Yeah." Paige gave up stretching and flopped down in a lounge chair. "That's nice, right?"
"Absolutely." Louise grinned. "How long is he here for? When does he go back to Boston?"
"He's in town for a year. I don't know when he got here, though, so I don't know how soon until he leaves."
Louise pulled her arm across her body, stretching her shoulder. "What's his name?"
"Luke Donovan. He wants to hire me, although he doesn't know it."
"What does that mean?"
Paige took off her sandals and wiggled her toes. The chipped nail polish wasn't flattering. Now that she didn't pay someone else to paint her toes, it didn't get done very often. It was just too much of a bother. "Well, he read my contract for Freedom, and he liked it. He wants to hire the lawyer w
ho wrote it."
Her mom pulled her other arm across her chest. "But you didn't tell him it was you."
"Nope. He thinks I'm a rural bumpkin. Which I am. I'm not a lawyer anymore."
Louise shot her a skeptical look. "If you're not a lawyer, what are you doing dispensing free legal advice to every schmuck in town who wants it? Are you practicing illegally, or did you keep your license active?"
"I'm not breaking the law." Paige glared at her. "But there's a difference between helping friends and being forced to suck up to domineering corporate clients who want to turn their billions into more billions."
"Maybe you should open a little practice at your house? Part time dog trainer, part time lawyer."
She felt the familiar noose tighten around her neck at the thought of being paid to be a lawyer. If she were paid, it would become a trap again. As long as she did it for free, she could walk away at any time. Giving local folks free legal advice was fun, because she was able to make their lives better. If she'd been involved in a small town practice from the beginning, maybe she would have loved it. Maybe she wouldn't have run away screaming from the legal profession. It was too late. She was ruined from the law forever. "I don't need the money that badly."
"Are you going to support me in my old age on a dog trainer's salary?" Louise asked, launching into a furious set of jumping jacks.
"Yeah, right. Dad's money will last you forever if you keep living in this town. Your alimony is a fortune up here. You'll be supporting me…not that I need it," she hastily added. "I have plenty of money saved up. I'm fine."
"Never...will...I...support...you...after...you...tossed...away...a...lucrative...career..." Louise puffed out between jumps.
"I thought you supported my decision." Paige scowled at her mom. Twenty-five years her elder, and there was nothing bouncing on her mom except her flaming red hair.
Damn. Maybe she needed to stop hanging out with her mom. Her self-esteem wasn't fully functional yet, or at least, it wasn't functioning well enough to be bested by her mom in every physical standard known to humankind.
Louise stopped jumping and touched her daughter's shoulder. "Hon, after thirty years of being married to your father, I'm incredibly thankful you saw that life was about more than money and work. I fully support your choice not to break your soul for that firm. I just worry you're going to grow old with no companions except your dog and me. You need a man."
"I don't need a man," Paige shot out, even as she pictured Luke driving up to her cottage in his luxury car. "No woman needs a man."
"Well, I agree with that. No woman needs a man to take care of her; however, by virtue of the fact you're a human being, love is important. You need love, the kind of love that you're not going to get from me or your dogs. The kind of love that makes the world shine a little brighter every day. Pure, beautiful, romantic love. Since you haven't shown any inclination to date women, then you need a man. This little town isn't exactly overflowing with eligible bachelors who don't have a chaw of tobacco in one cheek and think a romantic gesture is helping you clean fish. Not the kind of man who is going to give you eternal happiness."
"No man gives eternal happiness, Mom."
Louise snorted in aggravation. "Yes, I know that. Stop pulling that lawyer crap on me and picking apart my words. You know damn well that I mean that loving yourself and being in a mutually loving partnership is important. The partnership is what creates the happiness, my dear. And I'm thinking that your Muffin Man may be just the right thing for you. Boston isn't too far away, even after the year is over."
"The Muffin Man?" She couldn't help but giggle, wondering what Luke would think of that. Then, she immediately grimaced. Luke was far too tempting, and he'd nearly caused her to relapse into a panic attack. She did not need to hear Luke's praises sung, not when she could still feel his magnetism. "I'll go to dinner with Walter's son on Saturday. Then will you get off my back about Luke?"
Louise grinned. "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't."
"I doubt I'll see him again anyway. He left in quite a huff." She frowned at the disappointment that surged through her when she articulated the thought she'd been suppressing since he'd driven out of her driveway. What if he didn't come back? No, that would be a good thing. She didn't need him to complicate her life.
Louise waggled her brows. "I predict he'll be back. He won't be able to stay away from you."
"Because I'm a goddess?"
Louise snorted. "Because you're the only decent dog trainer around, and Muffin is going to drive him insane." Then she winked. "And once he comes back to train his dog, and starts to hang out with you, then, he'll realize you're a goddess."
Paige smiled. "I love you, Mom."
"Love you, too." She dropped down to the wooden deck. "Now, let's do some abs. You need to have a great stomach by the time he gets around to fondling it."
Her mom's words immediately created a visual of Luke, herself, and a whole lot of skin. Crap! "Mom!"
"Abs, my dear. It's good for you." Louise grabbed Paige's bare foot and pulled her off the chair. "If he's as stubborn as you, you guys are going to have some entertaining times. Let's do one hundred."
Paige sighed, but she tucked her hands under her head and started curling. Not that she expected to see Luke again, but it still wouldn't hurt to make sure her abs were strong.
Not to look good for him, but because muscles made a woman into a badass, and she had a feeling she was going to need a little badassness in her life.
Chapter 7
By Saturday night, Paige hadn't heard anything from Luke, and she was beginning to believe she wasn't ever going to. Which was both good, and incredibly disappointing, which made it even more good. More better. Better.
God. She couldn’t even think anymore. She'd been so discombobulated after her meeting with him that she'd had law firm nightmares the rest of the week, and when she wasn't dreaming about law firm hell, she'd been dreaming about abs, nakedness, and kisses.
Which meant she was very glad to finally have a distraction, even if it was a double date with her mom.
Paige elbowed her mom while Walter and Walt Jr. were discussing which wine to order. "Thanks for bringing me."
Louise raised her eyebrow. "You like him?"
Paige nodded, sneaking a glance at the slightly nerdy man with heavy glasses and a bead of sweat on his brow. "He seems nice." Not exactly sexy, challenging, or irritating, but he was nice enough.
"He doesn't seem very bright," Louise whispered. "I'm thinking he's not enough man for you."
"He seems approachable. I can work with that." Paige flashed Walt Jr. a warm smile. He blushed, then smiled back. Walt Jr. was the kind of man who wasn't obsessed with his greatness, didn't appear to work very hard, and didn't care about lawyers. So what if he wasn't handsome or could be bossed around by a three-year-old. He was as far from her dad as she could get, so it was perfect.
"That's our boat," Walt Jr. said, pointing out the window at a snappy red number sitting in a slip near the restaurant. They were dining at a nice restaurant on a much bigger lake than the one Paige and her mom lived on. Walt apparently had a very nice home on it, which meant his pre-retirement years had been lucrative. "Want to go on a ride after dinner?"
"Sure." Paige ignored her mom's sigh. "So, how often do you come up here from Boston?"
"About once a month," Walt Jr. said. He grinned. "But I might start coming more often. What do you think?"
"That'd be cool," she said. When her mom kicked her under the table, she'd had enough. Giving her mom the look, she stood up. "I'm going to the ladies' room. Mom? Care to join me?"
"No. I'm all set. Have a nice time." Louise picked up a roll. "Hurry back. We'll miss you."
Shoving her hair out of her face, Paige stalked across the room. Her mom was impossible. After talking Paige into dinner tonight, it had taken her about five minutes to decide that Walt Jr. couldn’t measure up to Luke, who she'd never even met.
Was it her goa
l to have Paige end up in a miserable marriage like she'd been in? Married to a man who didn't care one bit about his wife or kids, except how they might help his career? Like Luke. Who hadn't called. The man didn't even care enough to train his dog. And her mom wanted her to choose him over Walt Jr.?
"That's your heavily-muscled lumberjack?"
The deep rumble of masculine amusement drew her up short, a tingle shooting through her. She caught her breath, then turned to her right. There he was. The Muffin Man. Grinning like a dog who'd just stolen a roast beef.
Her heart leapt and started thundering in her chest. He looked devastatingly handsome, and her body reacted the same way as it had before, pretty much prostrating itself for a chance to bask in the raw masculinity emanating from him.
He grinned. "You can't buy that guy's muscles in a gym. You were absolutely right about him."
She took a deep breath. "What are you doing here?"
"Trawling for clients, of course. What else would I be doing? Eating dinner?"
Paige inclined her head slightly. "Point taken. How's Muffin?"
His cheek twitched. "He's fine."
She grinned. "Still having trouble, I see."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to. I've met the dog, and I've met you. Plus, your cheek is doing this weird twitchy thing when I say his name. Muffin. Muffin. Muffin. Does his name give you convulsions?"
He pressed a hand to his twitchy cheek. "Well, aren't you the all-seeing soothsayer."
She grinned. "It's my job to know dogs."
"Have you given my card to your lawyer friend yet?"
Ah…he was tenacious when it came to recruiting talent. Somehow, that didn't surprise her. "She's not interested."
"That's not what I asked."
Paige rolled her eyes. "She has your card, but the thought of being affiliated with a Boston law firm doesn't send chills of delight down her spine."
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